ANALYSIS: From Luke Littler to Beau Greaves - the 41 English qualifiers for the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship

Out of the 128 players competing for glory at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship, a staggering 41 of them reside from England. The depth in the sport is at an all-time high, led by the top two players in the world.

Darts has typically been synonymous with English culture. A large number of major events are also regularly played across the country, boosting the appeal for the sport. While it has spread across the British Isles, England remain the powerhouse of darts. The array of talent will be hoping to perform in front of a home crowd as they travel from every corner of the country to compete in the pinnacle of the darting calendar, with a large sum of £1 million on the line for the eventual champion.

With the tournament kicking off this Thursday, here are the 41 players who have qualified for the upcoming World Darts Championship.

If things go to plan, then it could be another showdown for the title between Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, a repeat of the 2024 final.

While Littler lost that contest, this can be excused with it being his first event senior PDC event, only 16-years-old at the time. Anyway, he made up for it a year later after trouncing Michael van Gerwen in the final to become the youngest world champion. Adding to that he has won almost every major title on offer, including the Premier League of Darts on debut, the World Matchplay and two Grand Slam of Darts triumphs. Aside from the World Cup of Darts and European Championship, he has made the final of every major PDC tournament in 2025, helping him recently rise to world number one. He will be looking to start 2026 to prolong his ominous form.

It seems the only person who could get close to him is the former world number one Humphries. The form has been there for him in 2025, winning the Premier League and Winmau World Masters. However, he would lose in three consecutive major finals, two of which coming against his nemesis Littler. His early exit in the Players Championship Finals does not leave him with great momentum heading to the palace, but he will still prove to be a tough player to defeat.

Out of the players currently in the top 10, half of them are English. The third highest being the popular Stephen Bunting. While he possesses a lot of talent, the form simply has not been there, specifically on the big stage. He has picked up just two wins from his previous five major events, which also included no wins in the Grand Slam of Darts group phase. Last year's semi-finalist has a point to prove as he looks to return to his best.

Chris Dobey was one of the other semi-finalists last year. While he could not find a wat past van Gerwen, this set him up to push for more major glory. This has not happened. The former Masters champion has only made two quarter-finals on TV since he last featured at Ally Pally. His form on the floor has seen him keep his top 10 status, lying eighth in the world.

However, a certain James Wade has managed to leapfrog him, along with a whole host of talented players to return to the top end of darts once more. He has made two major final at the UK Open and World Matchplay, losing on both occasions to Littler. The Premier League may be beckoning once more for the 42-year-old, whose fine form has pushed him as high as fifth in the word. The World Championship crown is one of the only titles he has yet to grab a hold of, making it top priority for 'The Machine' to go on a deep run. He has previously achieved four semi-finals, but yet to get a win on the stage in three years.

From the prior 32 PDC World Darts Championship events, seven English champions have been named. Phil Taylor and Dennis Priestly have both put their darts down while two-time champion Adrian Lewis is set to return to the sport. Aside from Littler and Humphries, Rob Cross and Michael Smith are the only former English champions.

They both return to Alexandra Palace out of form. Cross is in real danger of tumbling down the order. He is defending £100,000 from a semi-final two years ago. With just one title, coming in Players Championship one, and zero major quarter-finals reached, it is desperate times for 'Voltage.' He may go through something similar to what the 2023 champion Smith did. 'Bully Boy' was on top of the world, sitting at world number one with the sky the limit. However, this quickly went down hill. Injuries plagued his progress, seeing him fall outside the top 16 and fail to even qualify for major events. He did show some promising signs at the Grand Slam of Darts, making it out of a tough group before falling at the quarter-finals. He has talked about aspirations to get back to his best, and this could be his chance at the place of his greatest moment.

In 12th, Ross Smith is the highest ranked Englishman outside the top 10. A previous European champion, 'Smudger' knows how to win on the big occasion. This does not include at the World Championship, where he has never made it past the third round.

Nathan Aspinall was also struggling at the biggest events in darts before making it to the quarter-final stage earlier this year, being dumped out by Littler. While his form has been good, he has fallen far down the Order of Merit due a feeble attempt to defend the World Matchplay title. A final in the Players Championship Finals showcases that he is on very good form, and fighting talk from 'The Asp' proves he is ready to add to a brace of semi-finals achieved in 2018 and 2019.

Ryan Searle will be looking at his draw and believe there is a possible opening if he delivers his best darts. He has a consistent streak at Ally Pally by either being knocked out at the third or fourth round. Funnily enough, Dave Chisnall has never been defeated at the fourth round stage. That could be a good omen for the former semi-finalist if he makes it there, but that is a big if. His form has fallen off a cliff, as he struggles to get wins on the board. This saw him miss out on the World Grand Prix and European Championship. With a quarter-final to defend, it is concerning times for 'Chizzy.'

Out of all the top players, Ryan Joyce will be one which many would want to avoid. He almost defeated Littler last year with clinical skill on the outer ring, especially double 16. He burst onto the scene in his debut campaign with a quarter-final in 2019, and has since come close to breaking into the top 20. This could be the event where he gets over the line. That is the same for Luke Woodhouse. He celebrated twice in his famous clash against Damon Heta last year: once when the Aussie pinned a nine-darter and again when he won the match. The inform 'Woody' will attempt to continue his positive trajectory into the worlds.

On the opposite end of the scale, things are looking bad for Ritchie Edhouse. The 2024 European champion failed to qualify for Dortmund this year, and has had a dreadful 2025 on tour. His World Championship form does not boast for good reading, never finding a way past the second round. Joe Cullen can also be put in the same bracket as Edhouse. Experiencing an abysmal run of form, 'The Rockstar' is under threat to drop out of the top 32 for the first time since 2017. Someone not expected to see outside is Andrew Gilding. The former UK Open champion was pushing for a spot in the top 16 after playing the darts of his life, reaching the World Matchplay quarter-final. The form has not kept up to the high standards expected, with his thumb desperate for some action.

Scott Williams was a surprising semi-finalist two years ago. His natural energy and class on stage proved to be a great concoction for a deep run. £100,000 is set to be on the firing line if he cannot produce similar darts to 2024. There has been concerns over his throw, with dartitis questioned by many after a clip went viral from a Pro Tour event.

Rounding off the top 40 we have Martin Lukeman and Ricky Evans. Lukeman was and will always be able to call himself a major finalist after losing to Littler in the Grand Slam of Darts final in 2024, but similar to Edhouse has not managed to capitalise on this success for their own good. Evans, on the other hand, has not been so successful despite playing well. The popular darter from Kettering knocked out Chisnall last year, and rolled back the years to make the last-eight at the Grand Slam.

There is a golden opportunity for a name to emerge from one of these qualifiers at the upcoming World Championship. It could be Bradley Brooks who has endured a scintillating year on the oche. After getting his tour card back, he has won a maiden senior PDC title on the floor and regularly acquitted himself well with ton+ averages. His last appearance was overshadowed by a nine-darter from William Borland, sending him packing.

Callan Rydz is a familiar name at this event. The two-time quarter-finalist always saves his best darts for the World Championships, and will be a tricky competitor for whoever faces him on the oche. Ian White is an experienced foe, but lacks the success to show for it. This will be 'Diamond's' 14th World Championship, his best coming in 2014 with a tight quarter-final loss to Simon Whitlock.

Ryan Meikle is back for a sixth time at Ally Pally. The 'Barber' had a memorable 2025 campaign, defeating Fallon Sherrock before succumbing to Littler. After putting up a good fight, he could do nothing about an average rocketing above 140.91 in the fourth and final set. James Hurrell also made it to the second round last year in his debut venture. He dropped just one leg against a distinctively average Jim Long before being ushered away by van Gerwen. Owen Bates is also set to return for a second bite of the cherry. The talented youngster failed to qualify last year, halting his progress from 2024 where he debuted and lost straight away. Despite a nickname change, the formerly dubbed 'Master' is on the hunt for a maiden win at the Palace.

The same cannot be said for Connor Scutt, who snuck in by the skin of his teeth after a nervy ending to the Players Championship events. Following that was a return to form from 'The Sniper.' He culminated this by qualifying for the Grand Slam and even making it out of his group.

Beau Greaves has excited darts fans for years. Her immense quality at the age of 21 gives many fans hope of a talent in the pipeline. She is set to make her second appearance at the PDC World Championship after a debut campaign in 2023 ended with a defeat to William O'Connor. Her TV form has also been impressive, averaging over 100 in matchups against van Gerwen and Gary Anderson at the Grand Slam. She has won the last 86 matches on the women's tour with no one even getting close.

This includes the 'Queen of the Palace' Sherrock. A trailblazer for women's darts, Sherrock sent the darting world into overdrive after defeating Ted Evetts in the first round of the 2020 edition. She was the first women to win a match at the PDC World Championship in a huge breakthrough for the sport. She backed it up with a victory over 11th seed Mensur Suljovic but lost to Dobey in the third round. Three times she has returned, but each time she left empty handed. This is the same for the women's World Matchplay champion Lisa Ashton who is hoping for a win at the fifth time of asking. A four-time BDO World Champion, 'The Lancashire Rose' is experience in lifting trophies.

Over on the Challenge Tour, a brace of old names have returned. This includes the 2009 semi-finalist Mervin King. After 16 consecutive years of regularly turning up, a drop off in form saw King not only lose his tour card but the chance to compete on the biggest stage of all. His long awaited 17th appearance is set to happen, as darts welcomes back a legend back to the Palace. Along with him, Evetts has also booked his ticket through the Challenger Tour after a two-year absence. He finished third in the Order of Merit.

Out of the four names to secure their spots at the last-minute Tour Card Holders Qualifier, three of them come from England. This two of which will be appearing for not the first time. Adam Hunt has not qualified since 2022. He had made a run to the third round a year prior. Stephen Burton had a lot of promise on his shoulders but could not convert it into anything good after a poor performance in last year's tournament.

Seven English darters will be making their way to Alexandra Palace for the first time in their career. The most notable may be Cam Crabtree who has already made an impression. The 22-year-old topped the Development Tour by over £2,000 from Greaves with five titles from six finals, However, it was his appearances on the Pro Tour which got him through the front door. He also gave a good showing at the Grand Slam along with a semi-final and quarter-final appearance on the Pro Tour. Charlie Manby was also a regular in these Development Tour events, hitting an astonishing 130 average earlier this year. He will be proving why the hype around him is so strong.

Dom Taylor was a regular danger on the floor, comfortably booking his place for the World Championship. 'The Tower' reached a brace of semi-finals as he started to kick on in the sport. The other qualifiers from the Pro Tour Order of Merit include Matthew Dennant, Justin Hood and Adam Lipscombe. From recent memory, Lipscombe may be high on the list due to him faltering under extreme pressure in the third round of the Players Championship Finals, as he missed 10 match darts against Daryl Gurney. Gemma Hayter became the fifth and final women to qualify, and is the only one yet to play on the Ally Pally stage in what is set to be a special moment for her. Wrapping up the participants is Tavis Dudeney who was among the last-gasp entries through the Tour Card Qualifiers event.

The darts at Alexandra Palace will commence from December 11 - January 3. See the full schedule for the PDC World Darts Championship.